Web-based content is often accessed using a web browser at a client terminal. A user supplies the web browser with a uniform resource locator (URL) address, and the web browser generates a request with the supplied URL address. The client then transmits the request to a web server over a network such as, for example, the Internet. In response to receipt of the request, the web server retrieves the file associated with the URL and transmits the file and any associated files to the client. The client downloads the file included in the response, and the web browser at the client interprets and presents the file to the user.
Web pages are one kind of file that a user at a client may request using a web browser. Web pages are often formatted using HyperText Markup Language (HTML). Web browsers interpret the HTML in order to present the content of the web pages to users on a display at the client terminal. As the Internet has grown, web pages have been adapted to include not only text- and image-based content, but audio and video content as well. Additionally, the types of devices capable of displaying web-based content have expanded. For example, devices that may be adapted for web browsing include desktop computers, laptop computers, tablet computers, cellular telephones, vehicle infotainment devices, televisions, set-top boxes, and video game consoles.
However, circumstances may constrain the availability or quality of certain web content. Environmental constraints may limit the ability of users to request and view web content on a display (e.g., while driving a car or while on foot). Additionally, some client devices (e.g., cellular telephones) may lack suitable web browsers, input/output (I/O) peripheries, or processing power to retrieve and display certain web content. Moreover, the amount of bandwidth available on a transmission network may limit the availability, download speed, or quality of image-, audio-, or video-based web content, which may use a relatively high amount of bandwidth.
As a result of these constraints, users may prefer to receive the text-based content of web pages and other web documents, which uses a relatively low amount of bandwidth. Furthermore, users may also prefer that the text-based content is presented in an audible format in circumstances when visual presentation of the web content is unavailable, undesired, or unsafe. Moreover, in some circumstances, users may prefer to retrieve the text content in audible format by choosing a category rather than specifying a specific source. In these circumstances, users may not be concerned with the source of the text content, but rather the content of a particular category. Therefore, a need exists for providing text-based content to users at client devices in an audible format.